2013 CLOSED -The Haunt: Haunted Barn & Haunted Hayride (CLOSED) Event Reviews

The Haunt and Field of Terrors at Pearce’s Farm Stand were my first haunts on Saturday evening.  Pearce’s Farm Stand was easy to find with help from our phone’s navigation system and once we were near there were large lights and signs identifying the haunts.  There was plenty of parking and everything was very well lit.  When we walked up from the parking lot, there was a large building where you could buy your tickets and some great concession items including some tasty hot chocolate that I tried.  We purchased our tickets and then we took a look around the attraction area.  There is a huge hay bale climbing structure and a small maze for little ones.  There are cut-outs for picture opportunities and many fire pits to sit near and keep warm.  The fire pits were just what I needed on Saturday because it was cold.  The cold wasn’t keeping other visitors away from Pearce’s, there were lots of people there enjoying the attraction with us.  We decided that we would go through The Haunt, a haunted barn, first.

THE HAUNT

The haunt at Pearce’s Farm Stand is a haunted barn.  When we got in line and waited at The Haunt the line seemed short, but quickly we realized that at this attraction, very small groups go in at a time.  So, although the line seemed short, our wait time was a little longer than I first thought it would be.  That being said, when we did get to go in, just the two of us got to go in all by ourselves.  This is not something that you get at every attraction.  Many times you may walk around a haunt with a group of five to seven people, many of whom you may not know.  I thought it was pretty exciting to go in by ourselves.  This haunt lasted about ten minutes and includes a lot of disorientating dark winding passageways and quick thrills that startled us.  This haunt is creepy and effective for young and old alike.  We saw a variety of ages of people going through the haunt and all seemed to be having a great time.  When we exited the haunted barn, we decided to go get into line for the haunted hayride.

FIELD OF TERRORS

The Field of Terrors at Pearce’s Farm Stand is a haunted hayride through a winding, creepy corn field.  When we got in line for the hayride, I thought we might we waiting a long time, the line was long and there the ride seemed long.  Then we saw they were bringing in another tractor to pull us along and our wait time only totaled about 20 minutes.  When our ride approached, a large group of us were allowed on, in the entire group there were probably about 25-30 people on the ride.  When I got on, I realized you get to sit on hay bales that are set up against the walls of the ride, as well as, along the middle of the bed.  We sat on the ride and waited for the tractor to start up.  We waited another ten minutes or so before the ride began.  Make sure you wear extra layers if it is cold outside, because I was very cold.  The ride lasted for about 20-25 minutes as it wound around twists and turns in an eerie cornfield.  The cornfield is very dark and there are not a lot of other lights around.  As I rode around, I found to my delight several displays set up throughout The Field of Terrors.  All of the displays include sound and light effects, as well as actor interaction.  There is also sound set up through the duration of the ride.  I don’t want to give too much away, but the actors in The Trail of Terrors are great.  Super surprising and creepy, there were people jumping all over the ride.  I really enjoyed the ambiance of the ride and the fact that you get to sit and be pulled the entire time you are being scared, really is a treat that I haven’t often encountered.

The Haunt and Field of Terrors at Pearce’s Farm Stand are great attractions and Pearce’s has so much more to offer.  Pearce’s Farm Stand strikes me as one of the best places to go haunting with a large group of people or with the family.  The bonfire atmosphere screams sit and chat awhile, catch up with an old friend or with your children.  I thought that the area was beautiful and very professional.  The attractions were fun and creepy and I hope to go back next year to see Pearce’s again.

I must be honest, when I learned that I would be reviewing a brand new haunt, I was a little concerned.  It usually takes a few years for a haunt to hit its stride, so as you can guess, I went into The Haunt & Field of Terror with low expectations.  I must say, I was pleasantly surprised!  Right away we were greeted by some of the most pleasant staff members of any haunt.  We bought our tickets from the concessions area, which thankfully was selling some much-needed hot chocolate, and headed to to many fires that were there to warm you up.  We warmed our bones beside the fire and then we were off!  The Haunt & Field of Terror has two main attractions, a haunted house, and a haunted hayride.  We opted for the house first, because the hay wagon was full at the time. 

My biggest complaint with The Haunt & Field of Terror is the waiting.  We waited in a short line for way too long.  The time between groups was just too much.  It was a cold night, so the wait was worse than it should be, but this is Wisconsin, and I was prepared for that!  Once we got into the haunt I was surprised at how well it was put together.  The haunt was a good mix of live actors, above average animatronics and still scenes.  You can tell the Haunt did their homework, which I later learned was a good deal of on the fly suggestions, to make the house very entertaining.  The actors in the house portion were fantastic.  This is yet another area that can be lacking in first year haunts.  Without the experience of auditioning actors, you can almost guarantee lazy, non-committed actors, but these guys and girls played their parts well, and made me jump quite a few times!  My next issue with The Haunt & Field of Terror is the end was very anticlimactic.  I'll explain why, but am going to remain vague, as I don't want to ruin anything for anyone.  The big finish was played out for everyone in line to see, several times before you even enter the haunt.  I would suggest that the folks at The Haunt & Field of Terror stop that ending from reaching the outside waiting area.  We knew it was coming, and walked right past it, not surprised or startled at all.  It would have been good, if we weren't anticipating it.  In all, the house portion was better than average and I commend the people at The Haunt & Field of Terror for putting a good first year haunt on.

After the house, we walked over to the haunted hayride, and waited for the wagon to return.  We were on pretty quick, but were sitting there idle for a good 20 minutes.  I am not sure if the driver was on break, using one of the port-a-johns, or what, but we sat on the cold wagon, with exhaust blowing in our faces, and waited.  After all that, the ride was just okay.  Again, it was a colder than usual night, so it was less enjoyable than it could have been.  The ride takes you through cornfields with scenes every so often.  The scenes weren't much to speak of, but the actors out there were great fun.  Not much acting took place, just a lot of jumping onto the sides of the wagon, and growling, but considering the cold weather, these guys were top notch!  Hats off to them and their commitment to spooking!  The ride seemed redundant after a while, as each scene wasn't too much different from the last one, it was the zombies and ghouls that made this ride worth it.  They could have skipped the scenes all together and taken you on a dark ride through the fields and it would have possibly been more scary.  The ride took about 20 minutes to complete.

In all, I give The Haunt & Field of Terror a good rating.  Good upstart haunts are few and far between, The Haunt & Field of Terror showed me that they have all the potential in the world to grow and become one of southeastern Wisconsin's premier haunts.  I can't wait to see what they do next year!

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